Almost wasn't close enough for Iowa against Northwestern

IOWA CITY - The instant reaction among Iowa's players and coaches - dang.

The Hawkeyes trailed by two points with less than 10 seconds to play. Iowa freshman guard Josh Oglesby had an open look in the perfect spot. His 3-point attempt with five seconds left hit the front of the rim, came down between two players and caromed off Iowa freshman Aaron White out of bounds. Two Northwestern free throws later, the Wildcats snagged a 70-66 win Saturday at Carver-Hawkeye Arena.

“I set my feet, I released and I thought it was in,” Oglesby said. “It rattled out, but that's what happens.”

Iowa (16-15, 8-10 Big Ten) saw its NCAA hopes rattle out with Oglesby's shot. But those hopes were dashed mostly by first-half turnovers, not a slightly off-target 3-point attempt.

Iowa held a 15-point lead and the momentum with 9:27 left in the first half. The Hawkeyes then became rife with turnovers. Of Iowa's last 18 possessions until halftime, nine ended with turnovers. Each allowed Northwestern (18-12, 8-10 Big Ten) to inch closer and further rattle the Hawkeyes.

After a Zach McCabe field goal put Iowa up 28-13, the Hawkeyes' next three consecutive possessions ended with turnovers. The Wildcats took advantage of those mistakes and scored seven quick points.

Iowa then built its lead to 33-23 before it all fell apart. Northwestern cruised on a 17-0 run, aided by five Iowa turnovers, four missed shots and three Iowa offensive fouls.

“The bulk of our turnovers came seemingly at the end of the first half,” Iowa Coach Fran McCaffery said. “They went 1-3-1; we had no problem with it. Then they amped up the intensity of it.

“Then we started going side to side, and we just weren't seeing the guys that were open.”

Northwestern built a 51-40 lead early in the second half, but the Hawkeyes clawed back. Iowa's defense stiffened, and the offensive turnovers came down. Twice in the final minutes Iowa cut its deficit to two points and had possession.

After Northwestern's John Shurna missed the front end of a 1-and-1, Iowa held the ball down 66-64 with 1:18 left in the game. The Hawkeyes ran 25 seconds off but an errant Bryce Cartwright pass went out of bounds. Northwestern took possession with 53 seconds left, worked the shot clock inside of 10 seconds before guard Dave Sobolewski missed a jumper. Sobolewski followed his own miss with an offensive rebound - one of 14 by the Wildcats - but the officials were unsure if the ball hit the rim. After a conference, the officials ruled it did.

Sobolewski was fouled five seconds later, and he hit both free throws. Cartwright drove to the basket and put up a twisted layup to cut the deficit to 68-66 with 11.2 seconds left. Shurna was fouled on the inbound pass, and again he missed his first free throw.

Without a timeout, Cartwright raced up the court. Iowa sharpshooter Matt Gatens was double-covered so the ball went to Oglesby.

“I was just thinking I've got to shoot it if it comes to me,” Oglesby said. “I got it and shot it, and it didn't go in.”

Both White and Shurna lunged for the rebound, and the ball went out of bounds with three seconds left. The ball went to Northwestern.

“I hit it,” White admitted after the game. “I'm not going to say anything about the refs, but I did hit the ball. I don't know if I hit it last, though. I should have got the rebound anyway.”

The loss kept Iowa from its first guaranteed winning season and non-losing Big Ten campaign since 2007. It also positioned the Hawkeyes into the Big Ten Tournament opening-round game as the eighth seed against Illinois.

“We had a shot to be 9-9 in the league,” McCaffery said. “That would have been great.”

“Disappointing,” White said.

NORTHWESTERN (18-12)

Crawford 5-15 6-7 18, Cobb 6-11 0-1 13, Shurna 4-11 0-2 9, Sobolewski 1-5 7-7 9, Hearn 4-8 1-2 9, Marcotullio 1-2 2-2 5, Fruendt 0-0 0-0 0, Curletti 3-5 1-2 7. Totals 24-57 17-23 70.

IOWA (16-15)

McCabe 1-4 4-6 6, White 4-5 5-7 14, Marble 4-7 2-2 11, Gatens 6-12 3-3 17, Cartwright 3-5 0-0 6, Basabe 2-2 1-2 5, Oglesby 1-4 2-2 5, Brommer 1-1 0-0 2, May 0-0 0-0 0, Stubbs 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 22-40 17-22 66.

Halftime_Northwestern 42-35. 3-Point Goals_Northwestern 5-17 (Crawford 2-7, Marcotullio 1-1, Cobb 1-4, Shurna 1-4, Hearn 0-1), Iowa 5-16 (Gatens 2-7, Marble 1-2, White 1-2, Oglesby 1-4, McCabe 0-1). Fouled Out_Hearn, McCabe. Rebounds_Northwestern 27 (Crawford 7), Iowa 29 (Cartwright, McCabe 6). Assists_Northwestern 11 (Cobb, Shurna 3), Iowa 16 (Cartwright 8). Total Fouls_Northwestern 17, Iowa 20. A_15,400.

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